On Monday Shanti Elliott, director of the Civic Engagement program, announced new requirements for the program that include spending two weeks in a gang, serving a month in a county prison, and acquiring a drop of a celebrity’s blood. Students must also blog about their experiences and the new friends they made. Or you can do the Intensive option.

When asked for explanation, Elliot said, “Civic Engagement helps you to strengthen your connection to evolving grassroot coalitions that make up democratic life in America.”

Elliot aims to bring active learning into the Parker Civic Engagement program. “How better to tackle the subject of gun violence than spending time in a prison?” Elliot said.  “How better to work with an evolving coalition then joining a grassroots gang?”

Requirements are organized by a different theme for each grade level. Freshmen are encouraged to explore their identities within the social hierarchies inside a prison. Sophomores will be focused on their social knowledge, and will be tested on how many different drugs they can access within a 48 hour period. Juniors will learn about systemic injustice and will aim to correct it by forcibly taking D-List celebrities’ blood. Seniors will be working on the culmination of it all, aiming to improve their leadership skills by working their way up to the head of a gang.

The new program also aims at achieving the goal of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” after the recent resignation of the director of the department, Dina Levi.

This comes after protest from the student body over the requirement to blog about public events and to fulfill in-school hours. Students complained that they were confused and didn’t understand how blogging helped them as democratic citizens.

Sophomore Alex Chapman was asked his opinion on whether this program or the previous program was better. “Definitely this one,” Chapman said. “Before you had to blog. It was too much work.”

Parents also seem to support the new change. “I couldn’t be more proud,” an anonymous parent said. “I can’t wait to see my son’s first tear tattoo.”

Another parent expressed some concern. “What if the prison food isn’t gluten free?” the parent said. “What if my child is photographed by the paparazzi coming out of a celebrity’s house? Our family cannot take that kind of attention again.”